Laminitis

littleredmare

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This is probably a stupid question, but my horse has just began a 7-day course of steroids for these bumps she has on her skin. The vet said that there is a risk of laminitis and I've been scaring myself with reading lots of cases where horses have had steroid induced laminitis:confused:

She has really good feet and can live out in knee-high grass 24/7 and not get laminitis, but say if she did get it from these steroids, would she have bad feet for the rest of her life? If that makes sense? Sorry if this sounds stupid:confused:
 

OWLIE185

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One of the side effects of giving horses Steroids is that it may cause an incidence of Laminitis.
Keep a close eye on your horse and if she goes the slightest pottery or lame on any of her feet then this could be Laminitis and you need to immediately and without any delay at all contact your vet and most certainly not give your horse any more steroids.
Laminitis can cause the pedal bone to drop or rotate and this can not be reversed.
(It most certainly is not a good idea to have your horse on knee high grass and/or have an overweight horse as again this can cause Laminitis).
 

littleredmare

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(It most certainly is not a good idea to have your horse on knee high grass and/or have an overweight horse as again this can cause Laminitis).

Don't worry she's not :) She was kept in a field like that for a week with her old owner before I had her. I was just using it as an example to show she's not prone to lami.

Now I'm even more nervous about having her on these steroids.
 
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paddy555

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when then vet clinic wanted to give my horse steroids I refused. They were amazed and said it was a 1 in a million chance. After reading everything I could I felt it was a far greater risk than that. It would have to be life threatening for me to consider steroids.
 

Orca

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Is there any other way of addressing her bumps? If hives, finding the trigger might be a better long term solution, if possible.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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This is probably a stupid question, but my horse has just began a 7-day course of steroids for these bumps she has on her skin. The vet said that there is a risk of laminitis and I've been scaring myself with reading lots of cases where horses have had steroid induced laminitis:confused:

She has really good feet and can live out in knee-high grass 24/7 and not get laminitis, but say if she did get it from these steroids, would she have bad feet for the rest of her life? If that makes sense? Sorry if this sounds stupid:confused:

My boy was at risk too with steroids, give him a lami diet for a few days after like soak hay low sugar / protein. It is the best thing till the risk is past
 

TelH

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Laminitis can cause the pedal bone to drop or rotate and this can not be reversed.
One of my ponies has before and after x rays to show that this is not true. With the right farrier and vet it can be fixable. Obviously it needs to be assessed on a case by case basis though.

I had another mare who had a course of steroids and had no laminitic side effects from them. However, it is always a possibility so you do need to keep a close eye on your horse :)
 

OWLIE185

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Once the pedal bone has dropped or rotated it's position can not be reversed.
A good vet and farrier may be able to make compensations for the dropped or rotated pedal bone but it can not be pushed back in to it's former position.
 

littleredmare

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She has already had one dose today. Can I stop them now and try something else and then go back to the steroids? Vet wrote 15ml first dose then 10ml every other day for a week.
 

Clodagh

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Once the pedal bone has dropped or rotated it's position can not be reversed.
A good vet and farrier may be able to make compensations for the dropped or rotated pedal bone but it can not be pushed back in to it's former position.

Yes it can... it takes a long time but it is possible, the hoof keeps growing and you trim it to allow it to surround the pedal bone in the way you want it to.
 

Orca

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She has already had one dose today. Can I stop them now and try something else and then go back to the steroids? Vet wrote 15ml first dose then 10ml every other day for a week.

I would call the vet in the morning to discuss other options. It might also be worth making a separate post here about her bumps, to see if anyone can offer up any thoughts. Firstly, you need to identify what they are, then you will have a better idea of your options.

My own mare came to me with a sweat rash. A lot of equines seem to be developing something similar this year, thanks to the milder winter.
 

littleredmare

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I would call the vet in the morning to discuss other options. It might also be worth making a separate post here about her bumps, to see if anyone can offer up any thoughts. Firstly, you need to identify what they are, then you will have a better idea of your options.

We couldn't pin point what they were so he suggested a course of steroids to get rid of the flammation. I will speak to the vet tomorrow. Someone suggested clipping her again and then hot clothing her and then keeping a clean rug on underneath her at all times. I don't think they bother her but the back lady said to see if something could be done as they may be making her sore under the saddle.
 

paddy555

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yes the laminitis can be dealt with but it can be pretty serious and not something you want to risk if there is any other way. If it was a life or death situation then that would be different. If you are unhappy I would stop the steroids and ring the vet tomorrow and say you are not happy to take the risk at present. They can always be prescribed again later if you change your mind or if things get too bad.

One of ours got these lumps/hives every autumn and they got worse over the years. They went in spring. After trying everything we eventually found out they were caused by cushings. He was only about 10 at the time so it didn't occur to us or the vet that could be the reason. Once the cushings was treated they went.

We thought it had something to do with being too hot under rugs, too wet and rain scald without rugs and just about every other explanation. Cushings horses have poor immune systems and in his case that was the cause. Improve the immune system with cushings medication and they went.
 

littleredmare

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One of ours got these lumps/hives every autumn and they got worse over the years. They went in spring. After trying everything we eventually found out they were caused by cushings. He was only about 10 at the time so it didn't occur to us or the vet that could be the reason. Once the cushings was treated they went.

She's had them since we bought her. It was summer when we got her so everyone including the vet who vetted her thought they were fly bites. They used to be all over her body but as it got cooler they disappeared and are now mainly on her back and a few on her shoulders. I might try the clipping way to see if that will help. I don't want her to get laminitis and then be prone to it for the rest of her life as she is only a baby at the moment.
 

Illusion100

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Try not to overly worry about secondary Laminitis from the steroid tx.

Personally I think there has been quite a bit of scaremongering on this thread and it hasn't been helpful for you at all.

I've always given my horses steroids when needed and no ill effects and one was a typically flat footed TB.

Any drug has potential side effects, to hinder progress through wondering 'what if x, y or z' happens is quite pointless, particularly in this case.

I'd follow your Vets advice and carry on with the tx. :)
 

Hexx

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Sorry, it does happen. My boy got laminitis from steroids - admittedly, the steroids were more long term than the OP's - he had them as a treatment for IBD/cancer.

He went very lame and the vet diagnosed a bruised sole (even though he had very good feet), however, it was the start of lami - and the vet missed it even though we had discussed the possibility of laminitis the week before! In the end, because of the delay in treatment, he foundered and had to be put to sleep.

Yes, the cancer/IBD could have got him in the end, but the laminitis was something he just shouldn't have gone through.

I have lodged a complaint with the RCVS - the case is on going.
 

Hexx

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I just wish I had sought out some alternative treatment, gotten the steroids reduced or had a second opinion on the bruised sole a lot earlier - my boy could still be here, and I wouldn't be racked with guilt every time I think about him and what he went through.
 

Illusion100

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I just wish I had sought out some alternative treatment, gotten the steroids reduced or had a second opinion on the bruised sole a lot earlier - my boy could still be here, and I wouldn't be racked with guilt every time I think about him and what he went through.

There is no point blaming yourself. It is a very sad situation but you did the best you could and that is all that really matters. You weren't at fault.
 

Spot_the_Risk

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Hexx, I'm so sorry, a terrible thing to happen to you and your horse.

OP, talk to your vet. I think your question was whether the laminitis could reoccur... My horse had toxic laminitis in April, original cause Unknown. He was footy again in December, I think it is likely that I will have to manage him as a laminitic all his life now. He is six years old.
 

littleredmare

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Spoke to my vet this morning and he said as she will only be having a total of three or four doses over the week, the risk is very low and he's only seen two cases of laminitis with this, where the horses were on it for much longer. I'm going to keep a close eye on her and if there is any sign of lameness I'll stop the steroids.

I'm still a bit worried but my mind is more at ease than it was before. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 

Damnation

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I wouldn't worry too much about the Lamanitus risk - she isn't on the them long term.

I'd be investigating the hives. What do you feed her? It could be an allergic reaction to her feed, like a protein rash.
 

Annagain

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Don't panic. Life is full of risks and all we can do is identify them and mitigate them as far as possible. The vet HAS to warn you of the laminitis risk or he's not doing his job, just like the vet HAD to warn me that a steroid injection into my horse's coffin joint could introduce an infection, with pretty catastrophic results. Both those risks are pretty small, however and my boy has been sound ever since so it was a risk worth taking.

The vet mitigated the risk by cleaning the area thoroughly and I then had to keep him in for 48 hours and keep the site of entry covered. You can mitigate the risk by making sure she has as little sugar as possible. Soak all hay, cut her feed right down don't feed anything with molasses or added sugar (most cool mixes and chaffs will have both / either of these so read the ingredients carefully) and if she's in overnight avoid turning her out onto frosty grass first thing in the morning if at all possible. Work her as normal.

Hope her skin improves soon and she gets off the steroids
 

littleredmare

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I'd be investigating the hives. What do you feed her? It could be an allergic reaction to her feed, like a protein rash.

She had them when we got her and she's only on chaff. She was very briefly on Topspec Original a few months ago so we don't think it's anything to do with what I've been feeding her. It seems to be something to do with heat IMO.
 
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littleredmare

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Soak all hay, cut her feed right down don't feed anything with molasses or added sugar (most cool mixes and chaffs will have both / either of these so read the ingredients carefully) and if she's in overnight avoid turning her out onto frosty grass first thing in the morning if at all possible. Work her as normal.

I literally just turned her out onto the frost :( but I'm getting her in in like 20 minutes to ride. She also has apple chaff which has molasses in. I squirt the steroid onto her feed, do you think I could put a little bit of hay in her feed bowl and do it like that? So she's not having it with the chaff?
 

Annagain

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I'd change the chaff rather than attempting to put the steroid on hay. An unmollassed grass chaff like Readigrass or Graze-on would be best or mix it into some soaked fast fibre.
 

_HP_

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Once the pedal bone has dropped or rotated it's position can not be reversed.
A good vet and farrier may be able to make compensations for the dropped or rotated pedal bone but it can not be pushed back in to it's former position.

A rotated pedal bone can absolutely be reversed with correct trimming and should be done ASAP over a few trims depending on how much rotation.
 
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